Why Manchester United should keep their eyes off Ousmane Dembele
As per Diario Sport (h/t The Mirror), Manchester United are monitoring Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele ahead of the summer transfer window.
Dembele, 22, enjoyed a wonderful season with Rennes’ senior set up in 2015/16 after coming through the club’s youth ranks. He moved to Borussia Dortmund that summer and impressed with 10 goals and 22 assists in one season with the Bundesliga side.
He then earned a high-money move to Barcelona in the summer of 2017 and has since then spent most of his Barca career on the sidelines due to fitness issues. He has struggled with fitness and thus, United should keep their eyes off the Frenchman.
Meanwhile, the Red Devils have managed to bring a change in their fortunes and United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has done a magnificent job. The Norwegian has managed to take his side to the 5th in the league standings and are hoping for Champions League qualification.
In the past two transfer windows, Solskjaer has managed to bring in key players to the squad. Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James arrived last summer and have already made an impression at Old Trafford. All three of them have played key roles this season, especially with Maguire and Wan-Bissaka at United’s backline.
Portuguese playmaker Bruno Fernandes and Odion Ighalo were signed in January and both of them have been of immense help to the club. The Red Devils haven’t lost a game since their arrival, going unbeaten in 11 games across all competitions.
However, the manager should bring in reinforcements to the wide areas, where there is inadequate depth. But the report suggests United are looking at Barcelona winger Dembele and this would not be a good choice for the club.
Dembele may be one of the most exciting wingers but given his fitness issues, he would be a burden to United in terms of resources. In his first season at Camp Nou, he missed the majority of the games due to a hamstring injury but made it to France’s World Cup squad.
And this term too, he has featured in just 5 La Liga games after struggling with the same injury. Therefore, United should not make a move for the French World Cup winner in the summer. They already have the likes of Daniel James and Marcus Rashford on either flank.
Read more
- Why Manchester United should keep their eyes off Pervis Estupinan
- Why Manchester United should make a move for Kalidou Koulibaly
Verdict
United certainly need to bring in reinforcements to the wide areas given the lack of depth. Lingard and Chong have also lacked quality but instead of moving for Dembele, the club must go for an in-form winger in the summer.
